


Tiepins and Breaches of Protocol

by Diary



Category: James Bond (Movies), London Spy, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - James Bond Fusion, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Alternate Universe - Sherlock (TV) Fusion, Awkward Conversations, Bechdel Test Fail, Canon Gay Character, Friendship/Love, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Multiple Crossovers, POV Alex Turner, POV Male Character, POV Queer Character, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-26 21:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6256729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crossover. AU. In which a 00 badly mishandles a situation, Danny is dragged into the MI6 building, Alex is put on babysitting duty, and M tries to deal with everything as best as possible, all seen from Alex's POV. Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tiepins and Breaches of Protocol

**Author's Note:**

> i do not own any of the fandoms contained within. 
> 
> Author's Notes: What I know of MI6 couldn't even fill a single sheet of paper. Therefore, all inaccuracies are only inaccurate when applied to real life. Anything I do get right is either due to watching/reading something that got it right or, more likely, a lucky guess on my part.

Harsh, rough language startles him.

Closing his laptop, he peers out of his cubicle, sees a 00 agent dragging a civilian through the building, and feels a sense of uneasy confusion.

The man grabs a nearby chair and tries to wrap his feet around the legs of a desk. “Look, your own bloody website says that people have the right to take pictures of the building, and whatever you are, you don’t have the right to illegally detain me!”

“I have the right to detain you until the police arrive,” the 00 replies. “And the building, yes, but your girlfriend had no right to take pictures of an agent.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend, but supposing there was a girl taking pictures, how would you expect her to know who is and isn’t an agent? You lot don’t wear signs, and maybe it isn’t polite, but there actually isn’t any laws about not taking pictures of complete strangers.”

“The fact he was exiting the building wasn’t a clue?”

“No,” the man answers. “It’s tourist season, you probably have a better idea than I do of how many foreigners and other regular people show up here, but I do know it’s a lot. Speaking of, what if this alleged girl was a tourist? A foreigner? A spook or whatever you are dragging her into Britain’s spy building, I’m sure that wouldn’t cause a scandal if the papers got wind of it, never mind what you’d be facing if it ended up online!”

Just as the 00 pries the man away from the desk, M appears. “Back to work, Turner,” she orders. “Hello, gentleman. Why are you causing a scene in my building?”

Straightening and visibly calming down, the man frowns, and the 00 starts quietly explaining.

Sitting down, he reopens his laptop and resumes his work.

…

The man had black hair, stubble, and a slim build. A white shirt with rainbow stripes, jeans with a yellow belt, and scuff-covered black trainers.

It was the time most took their lunch break, and he was the only other person nearby. He doesn’t know if was right to stay uninvolved or if he should have done something. If he should have, he doesn’t know what.

“Oh, good, Turing- Sorry, Turner, you’re still here,” M says. “I have a special assignment for you. Shut down whatever you’re working on and come with me.”

…

As they walk, she says, “This is a disaster. Even when it comes to Bond, I’d expect better.”

They get to a room. “All I need is someone calm to babysit him. Originally, it was Agent A, but now, on top of having to protect 007 from being captured by the newest group in Georgia, I have to argue that a twenty-something boy was not committing deliberate, malicious treason when he talked to a pretty woman that I stupidly left alone in the room with him.”

Sighing and opening the door, she leads him into a windowless room with nothing but a desk and a chair.

Away from the desk, the man is lounging on the chair with a scowl on his face. He has blue eyes.

“Here,” M says. “This should be over shortly.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“This man is not an agent."  She jerks Alex beside her. “He’s not even a full-time analyst. He occasionally breaks numerical codes, but his job is essentially accounting. You don’t have to talk to him. I doubt you could antagonise him if you wanted to, much less- I promise, you’ll safely be out of here shortly.”

Turning, she quietly adds, “Don’t let our guest antagonise you, Turner, please. And if you happen to have an irrational grudge against any of your fellow employees, do remember that Holmes likely has no idea who you even are, let alone any sort of fondness for you.”

She leaves.

Offering his hand, he says, “I’m Alistair Turner.”

The man scoffs. “Not a spy, right. I suppose you go around giving a fake name for fun.”

Puzzled, he withdraws his hand. “No. That-”

“That isn’t your real name,” the man insists.

He sees there’s an old landline phone on the desk. Picking it up, he’s requested an authorisation code. Punching it in, he sets the receiver down, withdraws a card and his mobile, and hands the former to the man. “Call it.”

Giving him a suspicious look, the man glances down, goes over to the phone, and calls the number.

His mobile rings.

“Huh." Hanging up the landline, the man shrugs and goes back to his chair. “Fine, so, that’s the name your mum and dad gave you. It isn’t the name you go by, though.”

Uneasy, he has a sudden memory of his nanny. “Yes, it is.”

Shaking his head, the man says, “Fully aware that I’m not helping my case, you don’t have to be a spy to know things. I’ve haven’t travelled to many places or read many books, but people, people, I’ve always known. Boys when I was little and men when I grew up, especially. So, I don’t particularly care what yours is, but I do know when people hide their true name.”

“I prefer Alex,” he finds himself admitting.

The man’s smile is unexpected and alarming to look at. Offering his hand, he says, “Danny.”

Alex shakes it.

More than warmth, there’s something inexplicably pleasant about the feeling of Danny’s hand in his.

“Anything I can do when while I’m waiting for whatever,” Danny asks. “Even with her fake name, I liked talking to the first one they put in here. I’m not exactly sure why she was pulled out, to be honest.”

Even if Alex knew the information wasn’t classified, and it probably is, he has little idea how to explain Agent A’s quest for vengeance against 007 and her high value to Mycroft Holmes combined with the fact Mister Holmes, in general, largely prefers agents such as her to the 00s.

He’s tempted to ask what exactly Danny said to her. Like M, he highly doubts Danny deliberately gave her advice on how to further inconvenience 007; most likely, for all his unusual perceptiveness, Danny had no true idea of how his words would be taken and applied.

“I’ll see if I can find something to occupy you,” he says.

…

Frowning, Danny tosses the Sudoku book away. Grabbing a package of cards, he takes them and starts arranging them so every non-heart card is in between a heart one with each pairing containing a red heart and black one.

“I don’t understand precisely why you’re here,” Alex says.

He looked at MI6’s website, and on the frequently asked questions page, it gave assurances no one would be arrested and/or illegally detained for taking pictures of the outside building, although, all cameras, mobiles, and electronics would be confiscated before any tours were conducted and given back once the tour ended.

“That makes two of us,” Danny replies. “A mate took a picture of someone. I don’t exactly agree with it, but she does that. In this case, she just liked his tiepin. The next thing I know, another man has his hands on her and is trying to take her camera. So, I kicked him away, told her to run, and threw the camera in the fountain. Wouldn’t do that to her pictures if I could help it, but she can always take more. Can’t really replace her, yeah?”

“Why do you disagree with her taking pictures of people?”

“I disagree with her taking pictures of strangers without permission. Wouldn’t expect a spook to understand, but for normal people, we like to pretend that privacy is still a thing we get to occasionally have.”

“I’m not-”

Finishing arranging the cards, Danny begins reshuffling them. “You just help spies, I know.”

“You believe our work causes more harm than good?”

Looking up, Danny studies him intently for a moment. “Not necessarily. I mean, I don’t know. I hate secrets. But I’ve kept them before, and I understand why they’re sometimes necessary. Mainly, I’m just afraid that, one day, a lot of people are going to badly suffer. They’ve never physically hurt anyone, they aren’t mean, but they spent a lot of time on this website, they checked out this book, maybe they even said some really bad stuff that, if they could, they’d take back, and suddenly, they’re being tortured for this mistake they made that didn’t even hurt anyone. Especially people who don’t look like you or, even to some extent, me.”

Danny shrugs. “I hope that’s just paranoia on my part. I know a lot of what intelligence agencies do is good. If someone’s planning to nuke a country or blow up a building full of people or infect everyone with deadly diseases, I’m definitely not going to complain about people listening to their phone calls and reading their emails if doing it means finding a way to stop them from hurting innocent people.”

Watching Danny beginning to build a bridge out of the cards, he asks, “You don’t like Sudoku?”

“Don’t understand it. I did okay in maths, but I still have trouble balancing my chequebook sometimes.” Looking up, Danny grins, and Alex feels his heart pounding within his chest. “Never mind that I don’t have a chequebook, if I did, I’d just get a mate of mine to do it for me. I don’t think he’s like you, but he knows how to have fun with numbers. Great at poker, and he and his mates used to pass coded messages using numbers in school.”

Picking up a pen, Alex does a page. “I could explain it to you.”

Danny looks suspiciously at the paper. “I’m pretty sure you aren’t supposed to just put random numbers in.”

“I didn’t.”

Holding up his arm, Danny says, “Yeah, well, I’ve got a watch. Do another one, and I’ll time you.”

Alex complies.

“You- That was a few seconds over a minute. I can believe you can write that neatly that fast, but you expect me to believe that you actually knew the answers instead of just putting in random numbers?”

Sitting down, Alex points. “The principle is based…”

…

“Okay,” Danny announces, “the only conclusion is that you’re a genius.”

“I am. I went to university when I was fifteen.”

“Sounds lonely. I went for a year, then, dropped out. Finally left home for good when I was nineteen.”

“You were lonely?”

“If you met my parents, you’d understand,” Danny says.

Alex interprets this as a ‘yes’.

“But not unimpressive,” Danny suddenly says. “You going so young, I mean. Maybe it was great for you. It just wouldn’t have been for me, no matter how smart I was.”

“You were right the first time,” Alex says.

Danny gives him a small smile. “So, you can solve them, but can you make one?”

“I could, but since you still refuse to believe I can actually solve them, why would you believe I’d truly constructed one rather than simply writing down random numbers?”

“I never thought you couldn’t solve them, I just didn’t believe you could do it so fast. Since it’s been established you’re a genius, however, even though I can’t really understand it, I accept you can. But okay, let’s see if you can design a maths puzzle that I’m likely to be able to solve.” 

Withdrawing his notebook, Alex opens it, finds a clean sheet, and begins working.

“My dad once said I was going to get myself killed,” Danny announces. “Probably true. You don’t have any state secrets in your wallet, do you? Because I’m not a thief, but I do know how to pickpocket.”

Withdrawing his wallet and ignoring Danny’s expression, he hands it over and continues working.

“Huh,” Danny mutters. Setting the money and credit cards aside, he examines Alex’s driving license. “And the mystery deepens.”

“In what way?”

“You say you’re not a spy, but you wouldn’t be afraid to carry around pictures if there weren’t a chance someone bad could track down your loved ones. And you’re either reckless, or more likely, deeply committed going by the lack of condoms along with not having keys to someone else’s place.”

“Perhaps, I simply have no loved ones,” Alex says. “And it’s advised condoms not be kept in wallets.”

Unwillingly, he starts to imagine him and Danny-

Shaking his head, he redoubles his concentration on the puzzle.

“Everyone has loved ones.” Danny looks at Alex for a long moment. “Guess you really do know something about loneliness, though.”

He pushes the paper over, sets a pencil on top, and asks, “Do you want to see if you can solve it?”

Tossing the wallet back to him, Danny picks up the pencil.

…

With a look of concentration on his face, Danny starts doing more equations. “I think my mate, the one who likes numbers, would like these."

“What about the woman you protected?”

“She’s like me, always more drawn to the arts, except, in her case, she’s really talented at it. 'Course, I have to tickle her for a good ten minutes before she’ll agree with me.”

“You use tickling as a way to win arguments?”

Danny looks up. “You almost sound like her. She insists tickling is a recognised form of torture.”

“She’s right.”

Scoffing, Danny shakes his head. “I know some people don’t like being tickled, and obviously, if they don’t like it, no one should do it to them, but torture is waterboarding and food deprivation. Stuff like that.”

Alex’s mobile doesn’t have internet connection, and he isn’t sure looking up such a thing on a company computer would be deemed acceptable. Without showing proof, he knows there’s little chance Danny will accept what he says, even with sources cited.

“What about you? Are you ticklish?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I don’t enjoy it.”

One of the few ways he preferred Frances to his nanny was Frances never tried to tickle him and often prevented his nanny from doing despite his nanny's insistence all little children loved tickling.

“Wish we could swap,” Danny says. “I don’t have a ticklish bone in my body, but I think I’d really like it.”

Danny continues working until suddenly he asks, “Why’d they choose you? The first one, I’m pretty sure she was just nearby, and so, they grabbed her to play babysitter. But when she didn’t work out, they chose you.”

“I was nearby, too,” Alex answers. “The reason I was selected instead of my superior continuing to search for someone else was likely due to my personality, but otherwise, there was no deliberate decision to find and bring me in.”

For a moment, Danny considers this. Then, nodding, he goes back to the puzzle. “Yeah, I can see that. Got any kids? Not trying to find out anything personal or classified, it’s just you seem like you’d be good with them.”

“No, and that’s doubtful. I haven’t had contact with children since I was a child, and my experiences were never pleasant.”

Giving him a sympathetic look, Danny says, “Sorry. It’s always the special ones, isn’t it? Sometimes, kids are the worst at recognising that sort of thing. Or maybe they do, and that’s the problem.”

The door opens, and M and another 00 come in.

Standing, he puts his notebook back.

“We haven’t been able to find the camera’s SIM or memory card,” M says.

Danny shrugs. “Sorry, not trying to be deliberately unhelpful, but I don’t even know for sure what those are.”

“You threw the camera in the fountain,” the 00 points out.

“Yeah, and your mate went after it instead of my friend,” Danny says. “You think I wanted to risk damage to her pictures?”

“That would be even more incentive for you to hide them.”

Shrugging, Danny stands and opens his arms. “You want to search me? Go ahead.”

“Calm down, both of you,” M orders.

“I am calm,” Danny replies.

A thought begins to form in Alex’s head.

“Mistakes were made here,” M says. “I acknowledge that. Now, I’m asking you if we could please discuss them.”

Danny looks directly into her eyes. “If you promise me that none of you are going to come near the girl who was taking pictures, I’m willing to forget any of this happened. No other conditions.”

Alex sees M is about to agree, hesitates, and forces himself to inquire, “Ma’am, may I talk to you privately for a moment?”

Glaring at him, she nevertheless answers, “Very well.”

…

“There isn’t much basis for this, but he swallowed the SIM and memory card.”

She looks at him for a long moment. “No, there really isn’t much basis for that. What makes you think it?”

“He’s very protective of and caring towards his friends. He threw the camera in fountain in order to give her a better opportunity to escape, but he’s said more than once he wouldn’t risk her pictures if he could help it. Swallowing them is a risk, both to him and them, but assuming the water from the fountain didn’t irreversibly corrupt them- no matter how innocent the pictures, he wouldn’t want us to go through them. They might help us identify her, and it could be certainly be argued doing so is a violation of privacy.”

“Oh, hells,” she mutters. Rubbing her forehead, she takes a deep breath and looks up at him. “Suggestions on how to proceed, Turner?”

“Protocol dictates-”

“That isn’t what I asked. We both know that protocol is a finicky thing that can be changed in an instant. Obviously, protocol went out the bloody window this afternoon. But is that your recommendation? If you were in my position, would you follow protocol?”

“No,” he answers. “I’d promise what he asked and simply let him go.”

She gives him a surprised look. “Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but: Why?”

“The probability of this woman being a foreign agent or simply being someone who wishes to do harm to the country and/or this organisation is low. The probability he’s knowingly, actively protecting such an individual is also low. The most likely scenario is an artist decided to take a picture, an agent overreacted, and Danny reacted strongly to her mistreatment.”

She tilts her head. “Danny?”

“That’s how he introduced himself to me.”

“Huh.” She shakes her head. “I agree. However, ‘mistreatment’, whether accurate or not, is a strong word. Do you think he’s really willing to let this go despite his offence and concern over her?”

“Again, there’s little basis for this, but from what I’ve observed, he doesn’t strike me as vengeful.”

“Me either,” she says. “Well, let’s hope I’m not about to make a terrible mistake.”

Back in the room, they find Danny and the 00 playing a card game.

Looking at Danny, M promises, “No one is going to go after your friend. You’re free to leave, and I do apologise for all of this.”

Standing, Danny says, “Done.”

“Done,” M repeats.

Danny looks over at him. “No other conditions, but do you think I could have the other puzzles you made?”

Happiness floods through Alex. Taking his notebook out, he carefully removes the papers with the puzzles and hands them to Danny.

Danny grabs the other puzzle, smiles, and comments, “Pity you and I will never see each other again. It was nice meeting you.”

“You, too,” is all he can manage, and uneasy shame and self-disappointment floods him once the words are out.

They all begin to walk out, and the 00 starts, “Just try to keep your girlfriend from taking pictures of-”

“I’m gay. And why don’t you try keeping your male agents from grabbing at female civilians? My friend already has to deal enough with men trying things. Thankfully, she’s never been hurt in some of the truly terrible ways that some women are, but what if that man had done this to a woman who had been? It likely wouldn’t be, ‘Some tosser is trying to steal my camera,’ it’d be, ‘It’s about to happen again, and this time, I might actually die’.”

Alex can tell M is unnerved by these words, and when Danny looks over, he sees Danny also recognises this. However, whatever Danny’s thoughts, he doesn’t say anything, and his customarily expressive face is carefully blank.

…

Alex tries not to think about Danny.

He especially tries not to think of Danny whenever he showers.

He doesn’t always succeed.

…

A week later, he walks into the building and has just passed the reception desk when he realises something.

Turning, he sees Danny is sprawled out in a chair with an information guide in his hand. He’s wearing a white dress shirt and a pair of black trousers with the same trainers as last time.

“Danny?”

Looking up, Danny stands. “Oh, good, someone I recognise.” Producing his mobile, he shows Alex a slightly blurry picture of a man. “This is one of yours. He’s dating my friend. She likes him. This is literally the exact opposite of staying away from her in almost every way imaginable. I’ve told a mate I’d be here today, and I’m not leaving until I talk to someone about what happened last week. Which, given this, I definitely haven’t forgotten.”

Seeing the receptionist is looking warily at them, he walks over and quietly talks to her.

After she makes a phone call, she nods.

“Come with me, please,” he says.

Danny does without hesitation.

…

M looks up from her computer. “You’re right. He is one of ours. How, may I ask, did you realise this?”

“Well, this man grabbed at an innocent woman, and then, more-or-less kidnapped me. I sort of paid attention to the people who were involved. Can’t imagine why I would, but there it is.”

M gives him a tired look. “No orders were given for surveillance on you or your friend, much less to initiate direct contact.”

Danny looks at her for a long moment. “I believe you didn’t give any orders, but do you really expect me to believe that them meeting and him asking her out right after all that happened is just some big coincidence? Come on. I believe in fate and soulmates and the like, but if this were just a movie I was watching, even I’d be pointing out how weak the plot is.”

“Stranger things have happened,” M offers. “I can understand your anger and concern, but what exactly- Here’s what I could do: I could tell an employee he isn’t allowed to date a certain person. Is that what you’re asking me to do? Is that something you believe I should have the right to do?”

For a moment, Danny hesitates. “Why not? You already do, to some extent. I don’t know all the rules, but some intelligence agencies say their agents can’t date foreigners. I imagine background checks are done on anyone serious. And whatever your official stance on gay members is, I’m willing to bet that a good chunk of them are very careful to stay in the closet, because, they know, otherwise, they aren’t going to get very far.”

M sighs. “Unfortunately, that last one is more true than I’d like. Yet, your proposal is to make things more equal by-”

“Look, I’m sorry for those closeted agents and employees, but I’m really not concerned about them. If you don’t already know it, her name is Sara. Me and her live with another friend. She’s been looking out for me for years. And this man, she genuinely likes him. I love her, and no, I don’t care how this affects you or anyone else, I want her safe, and if possible, happy.”

“But you haven’t talked to her about any of this,” M suddenly says.

Shifting, Danny rubs the back of his neck with his hand and mutters, “Despite what it may seem like, I really am trying not to get killed or worse. And even without worrying about making the wrong step, I’m not really sure how you go about talking about something like this.”

M chuckles. “Understandable. Here’s what I propose: While I will ask you not to go around telling everyone about this man and his job, why don’t you talk to your friend? And then, maybe the two of you can talk to him together?”

Danny nods. “That sounds fair, but if he hurts her, I don’t care what happens to me, I’ll try to get justice for her.”

“At this point, I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Danny starts to turn, and then, suddenly, he laughs. “Bloody tiepin,” he sighs. He looks back at M. “Could you consider making them against the dress code, at least? None of this would have happened if that agent hadn’t been wearing one.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks. I’ll leave now.”

“Turner will escort you.”

…

Outside, Alex gathers up his resolve. “I’m not close to the people here. There haven’t been many people who’ve known me as Alex over the years. How did you know?”

Danny shrugs. “I had a feeling, and I knew I was right.”

Such certainty puzzles Alex.

He knows it’d be best to walk away.

Instead, he asks, “Is that all you inexplicably knew about me?”

Danny gives him a kind look. “I thought you might be gay, but no, I didn’t know until just now.” Shaking his head, he says, “It really is a shame we met like this. You probably would have said no, but I would’ve asked you about getting coffee or a drink. Maybe if I was really lucky, I would have been making you breakfast the next morning.”

Alex means to go back inside, but unable to stop himself, he says to Danny’s retreating figure, “I wouldn’t say no, now.”

Danny turns, and Alex wants more than anything to flee.

“You don’t seem very sure of that,” Danny observes. “But I know I’m always going to regret it if I don’t. Fancy getting a drink with me, later? No talk about my friend or your job?”

Swallowing, Alex answers, “I’d like that.”

…

Catching his eye, Danny gives him a small smile. “Surely, you’re allowed to tell me something about yourself.”

“I’m dedicated to my job,” Alex miserably replies. He considers showing Danny the information he’s gathered on tickle torture, but from he knows of dating, such a thing wouldn’t be appropriate.”

Danny shrugs. “Like I said, I left home at nineteen. I swear, if I ever had kids, I’d be a better dad than mine was. At least, with my mum, she tried. Not very hard or very well, but some, at least. I imagine your parents are proud of you.”

“No. They’re not. Charles and Frances. I have Charles’s surname. Frances- she wants something different for me. My childhood nanny still worries about me.”

“She’s the one who called you Alex?”

He nods.

“Sorry,” Danny gently offers. “Do they know about you being gay?”

“I don’t know,” Alex answers. “I’ve never- at university, I wanted to tell one of my professors, but we didn’t have that kind of relationship.”

Suddenly, Danny smiles. “You’re good at numbers. Me and a friend went to America once for a few months. Think you could explain, and remember, you might need to use small words, why places there don’t just give you a real price for things? They tell you something costs this much, and then, you have to pay a higher amount. Taxes, fine. I’m not complaining about them. I just didn't like trying to have to figure out how much I’m actually going to have to pay for something instead of being able to look at the tag and know.”

“The answer is complex. It has to do with economic models, trade laws, and social constructs.”

“But you can answer.”

“I know the answer. I’m just not sure I can explain it.”

“Well, try,” Danny says. “If I can, I’d really like to know.”

…

Danny frowns at the research. “Just don’t tell Sara. She doesn’t need to know she’s right.”

Alex looks around the nearly empty bar. “It’s almost closing time.”

Danny stretches. “Yeah, I suppose we better get going. My flat’s nearby. Do you mind walking?”

“No.”

…   

Outside, Danny says, “I’d like you to come up. If you want, obviously. And if you don’t want, that’s cool.”

 _You’re going to change the world someday,_ Professor Shaw once said to him.

 _You’re going to do great things, Alistair_ , Frances told him.

Once his nanny, Marie, had tied his shoes and said, _I think you’ll really like the cinema, Alex._

If Danny doesn’t know he’s never- Danny will soon enough. Even someone without Danny’s unusual perception would be able to figure it out.

Days, weeks, months, and even years have gone by in a blur, but right now, his heart is beating painfully fast, there’s a coiling pain in his stomach, and through his terror, he can still faintly smell Danny’s cologne and vaguely feel the warm body heat radiating from Danny. He wants so badly to kiss and do other things with Danny.

“I want to,” he answers.

…

Stop shaking, he desperately orders his hand.

He can’t help but jump a bit when Danny’s warm hands wrap around it.

“Would it be okay if I kissed you?”

“Yes,” he answers.

Part of him knows how awkward it is and how obvious his inexperience must be, but another part of him is amazed and overwhelmed by how good it is and how sharp the sensations are.

They fall into a rhythm, and though he’s had desires towards other men in the past, it’s never been this strong.

When they withdraw, Danny has his hand on Alex’s cheek. “We don’t have to do anything. Would you like to sleep here tonight?”

He realises exactly how much he does want to much more but isn’t sure how to explain this.

“Would it be okay if I took a shower here?”

Danny scuffs his foot against the floor. “I’m not exactly saying no. Only- you’re free to take a bath. We just don’t actually have a shower. Otherwise, yeah, of course.”

…

Please, touch me, he thinks. Please, let me touch you.

Barefoot and clad only in his trousers, Danny stands in front of him.

“I’ve waited long enough,” he insists.

Relief, anticipation, and fear mingle within when Danny moves forward.

…

With his insomnia, he rarely ever tries to prevent sleep when it approaches.

Now, however, he wants to be able to enjoy this feeling for as long as possible, and he’s worried about what waking up in the morning may bring.

Pressing even more firmly against him, Danny kisses his chest. “So, I’m just going to lay it out: I’d like to keep seeing you. But if you can’t, I understand. Either way, I’ll still make breakfast in the morning.”

“I’d like to keep seeing you, too.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Danny nuzzles his head against Alex’s shoulder. “Good.”

“Good,” he echoes, and finally, sleep overtakes him.

…

He takes Danny with him into the country.

When they sit down to eat, Danny says, “I know you can’t talk about your job, and I promise I’ll never ask any questions about it. But honesty is important to me. I want to know if I can trust you with that, and I want to make sure you understand that you can trust me. My past- there’s some things in it that, assuming you haven’t done a background check, which, I don’t mind if you have, you might need to know in the future, but right now, I’m not ready to talk about them. I like you, I’d like for us to see each other exclusively, and I won’t lie to you about anything. If there’s a problem, we should talk about it and figure it out together.”

“If this isn’t what you want or isn’t something you can offer, that’s fine, but please, just tell me right now,” Danny finishes.

“You can trust me,” Alex promises. “And I want to see you exclusively, too.”

Grinning, Danny leans over to kiss him.


End file.
